1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a card accessing apparatus which employs a head to read or write data on a data storage area of a card, such as an optical card, magnetic card or the like, and more particularly, to an improved card accessing apparatus which reciprocates the card by rotating a motor only in one direction.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A card accessing apparatus usually has a card holder which holds a card thereon, a guiding mechanism for supporting the card holder, a driving mechanism for reciprocating the card holder, and a head for reading or writing data on a data storage area of the card. The card holder is reciprocated by the driving mechanism, and the head is moved relatively with respect to the card holder to read or write data on the data storage area. The driving mechanism has a pair of pulleys, an endless belt disposed between the pulleys, and a motor which is connected to one of the pulleys. The motor is rotated in alternate directions to reciprocate the card holder which is connected to the belt at the upper portion thereof.
In the conventional apparatus, however, the changeover of the electric current to rotate the motor in alternate directions leads to a complicated control of the motor. The frequent reversal of the rotation direction also causes the brushes of the motor to be easily worn, shortening the life of the motor. Because the total time required for the frequent changes of the rotation direction of the motor is very long, high-speed data reading or writing is hindered. Moreover, a high-power motor for fast feeding of the card is required to achieve high-speed data reading or writing, which increases the size and cost of the apparatus.